This Week's Show
Wed 21st May 2008
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In the news this week
Massive RAC car breakdown loophole, 1p flights and grab the top savings account
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Celeb Wallet: Dermot Murnaghan
Will the ace newsreader make headlines or be yesterday’s news when he takes Martin’s wallet challenge?
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Celeb Wallet
Katie Hopkins
Wed 27th February 2008
Katie Hopkins is an undoubted success when it comes to making money but how good is she at making the most of her well-earned cash?
She’s a successful businesswoman who's amassed a decent pot of cash not only from her business exploits but also through a celebrity career that took off after making a splash on Sir Alan Sugar’s hit TV series The Apprentice.
But she can still do a little more to boost her wealth and Martin reckons she could save almost £1,000 a year by being a little more savvy with her choice of products.
For one, Katie spends around £3,000 a month on a Lloyds TSB debit card and doen't own a credit card. She spends £2,000 of that in the UK and the remaining £1,000 abroad – all on the Lloyds card.
Yet if she took out a Post Office credit card, which doen't charge the 2.99% fee for foreign use or the £1/per transaction charge that she is currently hit with abroad, she could save around £450 a year.
As she travels on British Airways regularly and has a frequent flyer account with the airline, she could put her £2,000 a year spending in the UK on a BA American Express card. That'd give her one frequent flyer point for every pound spent, which could net an additional 24,000 points a year.
And 20,000 points equals a flight to somewhere like Greece or Turkey, and once she’s earned 20,000 points on her BA Amex card that also entitles her to a free flight for a companion. Katie will have to pay some taxes and charges on those flights but it'd be worth £400 a year to her.
As well as her spending, Katie could make some more money out of her tax-free cash ISAs. Previous years' allowances currently earn less than 4% in a Nationwide account but she could easily get another £100 a year by moving to the top cash ISA, which pays 6.25%.
Take a peek at what was in Colin & Justin's wallet last week.
